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with a top action, the left hand is useless for slide pulling. also i like the ergonomics of the front. thousands of British tubists will strongly disagree.........

But, it's easier to flip music around with the left hand while playing a top-action tuba...

(I should know, since I have a front-action horn and dread having to turn pages.. lol)

Front action.....hands down!

Important consideration: If you use a top-action in an orchestra, the audience isn't 'downrange' anymore, and they're not getting all that resonant, velvety goodness you're hopefully putting out

MikeMason wrote:

with a top action, the left hand is useless for slide pulling. also i like the ergonomics of the front. thousands of British tubists will strongly disagree.........

Left hand useless for pulling tuning slides? What? I’m no Brit, but I do play both BBb and Eb top action horns. I find I have EASIER access to the tuning slides compared to the front action horns I’ve played. The slides are just a quick reach in front, you know, kinda like where the valves are on a front action horn. It certainly is easy to operate front action valves. Of course the slides are operated with the left hand, rather than the right but the reach is about the same, you just use a different hand. With top action, you would loose the leverage for slide pulling you get resting your arm/hand on the top bow, but with properly maintained slides you don’t need the leverage assistance.

I personally have no real preference for top vs front action. I got VERY good deals on my tubas. They are what I could afford at the time so that’s what I ended up with. As it turns out I was extremely lucky, they are both quite fine instruments. I’d stack them up against any modern horn. Well, the Eb has a couple interesting notes intonation wise (lipable), but the sound sure is sweet!

Depends on the instrument--trying to play a front-action Martin monster is like hugging a water heater. Top action makes sense there.

My CC tubas are front action and my E flat is a top action and I have a lot of playing time on each of these tubas. They all seem to have been designed for the valve configuration that they have and all are comfortable to play for extended amounts of time. I do not detect that either configuration is superior (given a proper design). Front action or top action is not important to me, although I have a mild preference for front action valve sets.

Mark

I happen to have owned a Conn 20J and a Conn 22J, which were the exact same horns except that the 20J was top action and the 22J front action. I still liked the front action version better because my arm would get tired faster when held up for top action valves. On the other hand, Chuck is correct that you need to have long arms to play comfortably on these front action BATs. Fortunately I have a 37" sleeve.

I used my Martin top action BAT in band this week and still think it would have been more comfortable if it were front action.

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bbtubaman wrote: Cases are also an issue since no one is hardly makeing cases for top action valves any more and same goes with gig bags. Since they are not as popular, they are accessorized as mucn.

Again, it depends. If you're talking about 3-piston student horns, the top-action dominates. I've also seen where a middle-school band kid chose a top action over a front-action model, because the top-action looked like the instrument shown in his band book.

Chuck(G) wrote:...--trying to play a front-action Martin monster is like hugging a water heater.

Hehehehehe...

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Seems like Howard Johnson and John Fletcher made good on top-action horns....

(but I voted for front action)

When I've played top action horns, my right elbow and forearm ache after awhile. Never have had that problem with a front action horn. I find the finger position on front action more comfortable also.
AndyL

Play 3+1 Top action, and in my Brass Band playing where there is lots of low register stuff, I can't indepently control my little finger on my right hand fast enough for the music. I have owned a front action, but found it impossible to use in pieces such as Montage (Peter Graham), Odin (Arthur Butterworth) etc.

No choice over sound, comfort, intonation etc tho, just preference over the valve positions!

MikeMason wrote:with a top action, the left hand is useless for slide pulling.

Earlier this year I got the giant old Martin bellfront that Baltimore Brass was selling. I vented the first and second valves on it, and move those slides regularly. They are very comfortable to reach on those old top action Martins, I grab the bottom crook of the first or the ring on the second. The third slides are even accessable but would be harder to pull regularly; but it really isn't that necessary with the 1st and 2nd pullable. For that matter, the pitch on the horn is bendable enough that slide pulling is almost optional. For what I use the horn for, I don't miss the fourth valve.

I generally play either front-action or rotary horns.... mainly because I just like the way they feel. I never really understood why until I spent four days a couple of weeks ago on a borrowed top-action Besson while in England. I 'bout went blind in my right eye! I voted for top-action because I just find them more comfortable.

I really dislike top action, be it tuba or baritone. Having recently toyed with a trumpet for my son, I found myself tilting the horn so that the valves were not moving verticaly.

With tuba in particular, I like the feel of 2 hands on the horn and looking over the horn. Top action just feels wrong. The horn is all to my right, and I cannot get a comfortable, firm grasp on the horn.

Then again the first tuba and baritone I ever played were front action, so maybe it what I'm acustomed to? Still I do see a lot of trumpet player tilting their horns, so true vertical movement is not common there. I see the same with many "marching" horns too.